European Parliament (Strasbourg):- 17th-20th May: Plenary Session - 18th May: Meeting of the Committee on agriculture and rural development about the future of the CAPEU Presidency:- 17th (Brussels): Council of Agriculture and Fisheries- 17th-19th May (Spain): EU- Latin America and Caribbean Summit ACP Secretariat (Brussels):- 20th May: Committee of Ambassadors

The 19th Brussels Development Briefing will be on Youth and rural development in ACP countries and will take place on 16th June 2010 (8h30-13h00) at the Borschette Center. This Briefing will discuss the challenges and opportunities for future ACP young farmers and the potential of rural youth in terms of employment, income generation, access to financial services, investment and ICTs as well as provision of formal and non-formal agricultural education and social services. The Briefing will also look at the policy options favourable in support of young farmers and their contribution to development thinking.

Prof. Umezuruike Linus Opara is a Professor at Stellenbosch University where he holds the South African Chair in Postharvest Technology. In this interview, Prof. Opara explains the various fields of research implied in Postharvest Technology. Furthermore, Prof. Opara makes the case for a multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary approach, where researchers from different backgrounds would interact with professionals of the food supply chain. Finally, Prof. Opara explains the importance of networking among researchers from Europe and Africa. Watch the ideo Chair in postharvest technology South-African Mission to the EU

On 12th May 2010, 108 participants attended the 18th Brussels Development Briefing organised by the CTA and its partners on “Humanitarian Assistance and rural development: responding to new challenges”. This Briefing examined Humanitarian needs and responses looking first at recent trends and challenges and innovative, responsive approaches to future challenges. The experts brought together at the event had the opportunity to share the lessons learnt from recent natural disasters as well as their impact on rural development and the role of agriculture and rural development in rebuilding and rehabilitation efforts. Read more Past Briefings Reports of the Briefings

The 3014th Council meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries held in Brussels on 17 May 2010 adopted a decision on the signing of a voluntary partnership agreement between the EU and Congo on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber and derived products to the European Union. The agreement is the second to be signed, after the one signed with Ghana in November 2009. Within the margin of the meeting of the Agriculture Council, the President Ms Elena ESPINOSA, minister for Agriculture of Spain, and Mr Henri DJOMBO, minister of sustainable development, forestry and environment of Congo, signed the partnership agreement.

Representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries were lobbying for greater assistance for their banana exports to Europe to compensate for the EU’s improving trade relations with Latin America at the European Parliament and Commission in Brussels, on 29 April.Cameroon’s Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, representing the ACP, said he would challenge MEPs and the Commission to go further than the €190 million package proposed by the European Commission, on 17 March, to help banana producing ACP countries adapt to the new trade regime since it resolved its trade dispute with Latin America and the United States, resulting in cuts to import tariffs on Latin American bananas. The minister argued that even with the ‘banana accompanying measures’, ACP countries had been “betrayed” by the EU.“We don’t want indefinite support,” he said. “We are asking for accompanying measures to be able to participate in a globalised world, we are asking to be partners,” he added. “Isn’t Europe actually turning its back on our countries?” he challenged. “Isn’t there a kind of falling out of love – I don’t want to talk about divorce – but a kind of falling out of love with Africa?” he asked.Source: Fresh Plaza

Mr. Gnitassoun Dénagnon, Head of Monitoring and Control of Fishing Products and Industry, Directorate of Fisheries – Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, in Benin, about his experience with the EPA.Benin has used the TRACES system to certify fishery products intended for the EU since September 2009. Our country is one of only three African countries to use the European electronic system of export control for goods of animal origin.'My involvement in the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) entails the supervision and certification of fishery products for exportation. My direct experience began in September 2002 and focused on the compliance of the entire fish production system – primary production, handling, transport and the processing of products – with various EU directives and regulations. This exercise has been very positive and, as of January 1st 2010, Benin has been included on the permanent list of countries supplying the EU market with fishery products. Benin has used the TRACES system to certify fishery products intended for the EU since September 2009, and our country is one of only three African countries to use the European electronic system of export control for goods of animal origin. Trade is an important factor for boosting development as it creates jobs through the production and transformation processes, contributes to poverty reduction and increases foreign exchange within the country. In my opinion, the EPA will have a positive impact on my country and especially on our Directorate of Fisheries.'

The relationship between the Caribbean and the European Community could be in for another overhaul. This time it will be widened beyond economic cooperation to include matters of political security.Head of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Valeriano Diaz, said that trade relations between the regions did not operate in a vacuum nor were the European ties with the region just about money. "Updating our trade relationship was one chapter in our longstanding relationship. We are now seeking to further enhance the political co-operation, through the development of an enhanced Caribbean-EU partnership," he said. "This move has been considered a necessity in light of new developments, including economic and financial crises, challenges related to climate change, crime and security and new geo-political interest and alignments," he added. Two meetings have already been held in furthering this process: one in Jamaica and the other in Barbados. The ambassador, speaking at a EU-sponsored consultation on the EPA one-year anniversary at the Sir Shridath Ramphal Centre of the University of the West Indies last weekend, said the partnership fundamentally changed the trade relationship between Cariforum and the EU, from one that simply offered tariff preferences - an eroding lifeline - to one that should build lasting regional and international markets for the Caribbean.

The European development NGO community has attacked the EU's already quite well advanced plans to subsume aid policy under the rubric of its new diplomatic corps, arguing that the new set-up will make development a mere pawn of foreign and security policy and that this is illegal under the Lisbon Treaty. A coalition of almost the entire community of development organisations have warned that legal action could be taken against foreign affairs chief Catherine Asthon's proposal for the External Action Service to prevent the EAS from taking over development policy. Concord, the umbrella group of all European development groups together with CIDSE, the alliance of European Catholic development charities, Aprodev, its Protestant counterpart, and Eurostep, the secular aid coalition, together sought legal advice from White & Case, a UK law firm, whose analysis came back saying: "The EAS may be in breach of objectives and competencies laid down in the Lisbon Treaty." "The role of the EAS under the EU treaties is restricted to the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), which represents only part of the EU's external action.

The note attached provides the latest information on agricultural commodity prices and the development in consumer prices. While prices for major agricultural commodities came back to levels comparable to those reached before the start of the price surge, consumer prices for food still remain at rather high levels (including prices for the staple foods bread and cereals based products, meat and dairy products)

Used to be, seafood was largely something only folks on the coasts got to enjoy, while fresh fish was for those lucky enough to live near streams or lakes. Nowadays, though, fish is everywhere. And not just Lake Perch or Salmon. Odd, exotic fish from far-away places. Tilapia. Swai. Mahi Mahi. Kingclip. Fish have gone global. They are, in fact, one of the world's most hotly traded food commodities: some 37 percent of all fish production — 53 million tonnes — is traded internationally. Exports of fish in 2008 were valued at a cool $102 billion. The lion's share of fish being traded is imported by developed countries — 60% of it, in weight terms, and 80% of it in value terms. Europe, Japan and the United States alone account for 70% of all fish imports, in terms of value. The total value of all fish imports in 2008 was $108 billion. For the most part, that fish is from the developing world — the source of 50 percent of all fish imports by rich nations, in value terms ($43 billion). This means revenue. Net export earnings for developing countries from fish trade currently run $27 billion a year.

Spain has become the first country to make a significant contribution to the Adaptation Fund. The country's contribution of 45 million Euros (US$60 million) will help the Fund finance climate change adaptation projects and programs in developing countries. Farrukh Iqbal Khan, Chair of the Adaptation Fund Board, said that, with this contribution, "Spain has sent a strong message to the developing countries that it is serious about its commitment to help them adapt to climate change. I hope other developed countries would now follow suit by making contributions and thereby helping Adaptation Fund to fulfil its mandate."In accordance with the rules of the Adaptation Fund, the money will be disbursed at the sole discretion of the Adaptation Fund Board to meet the most pressing funding needs of developing countries, without any conditions imposed by the donor. The Adaptation Fund is a self-standing fund established under the Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which gets its funding from a two percent share of proceeds of all Certified Emission Reductions issued under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism projects and other sources of funding. The Fund is designed to finance concrete climate change adaptation projects and programs based on the needs and priorities of developing countries.

The commission's fisheries director general has said that EU's future common fisheries policy (CFP) will be "drastically different" following upcoming reforms. Speaking in parliament, Fokion Fotiadis said the reform of the CFP would result in "significant" changes to fisheries policy. He also said that EU fisheries and maritime affairs commissioner Maria Damanaki "accepts that CFP reform is the single most important issue that will define her career". "The current policy is weak and does not work properly," he said. "In fact, the problems are so profound that a CFP can continue only if there is an in-depth reform. That means everything is up for review. "If we just continue as we are there will not be much of a future for the fishing industry.Souce: The Parliament

The European Investment Bank today confirmed its commitment to microfinance in Africa as a leading investor in REGMIFA, a unique EUR 116m (USD 150m) microfinance fund targeting small enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa. The European Union’s long-term lending institution will provide USD15m for the fund and will be largest holder of class A shares. REGMIFA was developed by leading donor finance institutions following a G8 initiative to improve access to finance in Africa. “The European Investment Bank is playing a leading role in supporting REGMIFA and its unique contribution to improving access to finance for entrepreneurs across Africa. Offering local currency loans, engaging a broad investor base and attracting private support will allow African companies to grow, create jobs and reduce poverty over the coming years.” said Plutarchos Sakellaris, European Investment Bank Vice President responsible for Sub-Saharan Africa. REGMIFA’s potential contribution to African economic growth has been strengthened by feasibility studies and in particular a study on foreign currency lending financed by the European Investment Bank. The Bank will provide a further USD 2m in technical assistance grant funding to support the initiative and has played a key role is selecting specialist fund managers. The European Investment Bank has supported and helped design the fund since 2007, through its active cooperation with other donor finance institutions.Source: European Union

In an attempt to tackle the increasing number of attacks by pirates on international shipping, the French Senate adopted a bill that will allow France to respond more effectively to acts of maritime piracy. The government majority supported the bill, while left-wing members abstained. The bill will now be put before the National Assembly.The Senate vote comes just after the Russian navy successfully liberated a Russian tanker that had been captured by Somalian pirates, and one year after the capture of a French yacht, Tanit, whose captain was killed when French commandos stormed the sailboat.The new bill brings existing French legislation on piracy into line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 1982. Acts of piracy are defined as attacks on shipping “on the high seas”, “in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State” and “within a State’s territorial waters, when authorized by international law”.This last measure addresses Somalia specifically. According to André Dulait (UMP), who introduced the new bill, “more than half of all acts of piracy in 2009 were carried out in the Gulf of Aden and along the Somalian coast, where almost 25,000 ships pass each year, carrying 20% of world trade”.The bill gives commanders the status of police inspectors, and will allow them to inspect suspicious vessels, open fire on and divert ships, seize property, arrest and charge pirates, and destroy their vessels. The text stipulates that when it is not possible for the pirates to be judged by a third State, the French judiciary could take over. The bill considers that the French judiciary has “an almost universal competency for judging acts of piracy committed outside France, regardless of the nationality of the vessel or victims”, when the pirates are captured by French agents.

EU Satellites that observe the Earth's surface for environmental and security purposes came a step closer when Industry Committee MEPs unanimously approved a draft regulation providing a legal basis for them, plus €107 million for initial operations in 2011-2013. The regulation has still to be approved by the full Parliament, probably in June.Like the Galileo satellite navigation programme, the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme involves developing the EU's own infrastructure, but, unlike Galileo, it is funded only with public money. The primary purpose of earth monitoring is to provide detailed environment and security data, tailored to user needs. The programme should boost innovation, research and technological development, and also become a key tool for supporting biodiversity, ecosystem management, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.Satellite observation data can help emergency services to deal with natural or man-made disasters, such as earthquakes, floods and oil spills, faster and more efficiently. This data can also inform decision making in range of policies including soil and water management, agriculture, forestry, energy and utilities, urban development, infrastructure and transportSource: European Parliament

Foods produced by nanotechnology should undergo specific risk assessment before being put on the European market and should not be included on the EU's list of novel foods (foods not on the market before May 1997) until then, according to Parliament's Environment Committee.The Committee voted 4 May that food produced using nanotechnology should be excluded from the novel food list, and thus the EU market, until the possible health effects of nano production can be fully assessed. An example of nanotechnology in food production is a wax-like nano-coating on fruits and vegetables to extend shelf life. It can also be used in salad dressings and sauces to make them pour more easily. Some of the world's largest food manufacturers - including European companies - are researching nanotechnology for food applications. But, according to the European Commission, there are currently no nano-foods on the EU market.Kartika Liotard, a Dutch member of left-leaning GUE/NGL, who is steering the proposals through the EP said, "we have insisted that no food products made by nanotechnology or containing nanoparticles will be put on the market unless they have undergone a validated risk assessment and are proven to be safe."Source : European Parliament Read more DG Research CORDIS

Between 20%-40% of the world’s wood production comes from illegally logged tropical forests. In April last year the European Parliament voted to ban trade in illegally logged timber following the example of the US. Now the text is back at Parliament and Environment Committee MEPs are not satisfied with what the EU governments in the Council have made of it - shying away from a real ban. Last week the Environment Committee voted again.The Council position officially adopted in March was considerably weaker than Parliament's 1st reading position. It did not contain a prohibition on trading illegally harvested timber and timber products, and it did not specify penalties, or require criminal sanctions for serious infringements; the regime for the recognition of monitoring organisations was different to what Parliament had asked for as well. Parliament’s rapporteur is outgoing (due to her election to Westminster) British Green MEP Caroline Lucas. Speaking after the vote she said "strong support came from across the political spectrum on key issues including adoption of an overriding prohibition on placing or making available illegally harvested timber on the EU market, extension of traceability requirements throughout the supply chain, and setting of minimum standards for penalties, including criminal sanctions".On 4 May 2010 the Environment Committee adopted a draft recommendation for a second reading, reinstating most of Parliament’s first reading amendments which the Council had not taken on board. The EP and Council have now started negotiations on a possible compromise between the positions of the two legislators before the Parliament’s plenary vote scheduled for July.

On 17 May, European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs will pay his first visit to Poland, in Warsaw. He will launch the second series of the "Kapuściński Lectures", designed to raise awareness on development cooperation. The EU Commissioner will also participate to a conference on Poland in the system of international development cooperation organised by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He will hold bilateral meetings with Mr Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs and have exchanges with Members of the Parliament's and civil society to discuss Poland's role and contribution to EU development policy.

Onions are the most exported vegetable (2.4 billion kilos), followed by tomatoes (0.9 billion), bell peppers (0.4 billion) and cucumbers (0.4 billion). The Netherlands also exported 2.4 billion kilos of fruit, 2% down from 2008. The most exported fruits are apples and pears (400 million kilos). Re-exporting fruit and vegetables is becoming increasingly important for the Netherlands: in 2000, 34% of the total quantity of exported fruit and vegetables originated in other countries; by 2008, the figure was up to 52%. Thirty-two percent of exported fresh vegetables are in fact re-exports, and 87% of exported fruit.

The European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, praised the Union's political commitment to fund an ambitious programme of aid for trade and economic integration in West Africa (PAPED). This programme is an essential element of the future Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with West Africa, currently under negotiation, and would ensure that the region made the most of this agreement. Funds available to provide support to PAPED for the next five years are around 6.5 billion euros. The European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, made the following statement: "The commitment to make available 6.5 billion euros will ensure that West Africa makes the most of the opportunities provided by the future EPA for that region. What we need now is a joint effort to conclude an ambitious EPA to generate reform, growth and regional integration. We are very close to reaching a fair and balanced agreement. Europe is not only the largest donor in the world – it also intends to provide the economic support to its partners to create the conditions necessary to achieve the Millennium Development Goals."Source: European Union

Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) will establish a joint climate change fund. AFD, EIB and EDFI members signed a Memorandum of Understanding for THE INTERACT CLIMATE CHANGE FUND (ICCF) at a meeting in Bruges on Friday (7 May). The Parties intend to establish an investment matching facility to invest in private sector climate change projects in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, Asia and Latin America before the end of 2010.The institutions have extensive experience operating across developing countries and emerging markets and share a joint interest in financing climate change and climate efficiency projects with the aim of creating a portfolio of climate friendly private sector investments in target countries.

Two of the most disaster-prone regions regions are not making full use of the funds available through the African Caribbean Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU). Ambassador Valeriano Diaz, head of the delegation of the European Commission to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, said of the organisation’s six regions, the Pacific and the Caribbean were most prone to natural disasters and should be able to “mobilise” the need for funds. He was speaking at the Disaster Risk Management Sub-Regional Programme Launch at Manor Lodge, Green Hill, where $1.8 million euros, ($BDS5.4 million) were made available to the Caribbean. The funds are being allocated to help strengthen the building capacity within the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and allow those organisations to be better prepared to respond to natural disasters, as well as bolstering their capacity for sustainable development planning.The ambassador said very often funds were there but were not being used, and while the ACP-EU was being replenished with $165 million euros, it was up to the various agencies to show “performance”. “Access to funds is based on performance, and very often the funds are there but are not used . . . but while the money is still sitting there, they also need to show how what is available is being used,” he stated. Diaz, who stressed that updates on how programmes were progressing needed to be more timely, noted that specific results should include the development of a model evacuation policy; facilitate the adoption of the model evacuation in at least one country; provide basic community emergency equipment; establish community profiling; and review and enhance response planning in the region. Executive director of CDEMA, Jeremy Collymore, said the recent disasters showed the need for reinforcements of a Comprehensive Disaster Management strategy. He said it was hoped that the funds would help to reduce the vulnerability levels of selected communities and provide technical, institutional resource and capacity building assistance to Caribbean ACP states. “The need for redundancy, diversity and decentralisation in our response systems has been highlighted. The project provides us therefore with an opportunity to target action in these areas,” he said. Director of the Department of Emergency Management, Judy Thomas, reassured Diaz that timely updates would be given on how the money was being spent. However, she urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to give the department the capacity to deliver when it accepted funds from such organisations.

COOP Italia has been accredited as the first large-scale retail chain in Europe as for corporate social responsibility. According to "Consumer International", an Association gathering over 220 consumer organizations in 155 countries, COOP Italia is the leading retailer in Europe as for corporate social responsibility. That association has carried out a survey of major retailers in Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain, examining policies on working conditions and business relations in supply chains for products from developing countries. COOP Italia is ranked first, followed by COOP Denmark and - at a distance - by other competitors. The reason of the recognition given to COOP Italia is the ethical certification SA 8000 - which COOP can boast since 1998, first in Europe and among the first companies in the world - and all related activities such as the commitment to the development of fair trade.

EU agriculture commissioner Dacian Ciolos argued recently that the economic crisis justified the need to keep a strong aid policy for Europe's farmers, which developing countries slam as unfair. The economic and financial crises, which have hit consumption and led to price volatility show that the bloc's controversial Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) -- under which the farm handouts are made -- "has a more important role than ever," Ciolos told reporters just before opening a public debate on the policy's future. The current system for the CAP, which swallows up some 40 percent of the EU's total annual budget, is due to expire in 2013. The 27 EU nations are divided over what exactly will replace it. France, the system's main beneficiary, leads the calls to maintain a strong system of farming subsidies, followed by Spain and other heavily agricultural economies. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said last month he was ready to risk provoking a "crisis" in European relations in his efforts to defend EU farm subsidies that French farmers have enjoyed for over 40 years. On the other hand, Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden want to see a continuation of the gradual reductions in the subsidies already introduced, leaving farmers, eventually, to deal with the rules of the market. Romanian Ciolos said a position somewhere in the middle should be found, and opened a period of public consultation to add to the search for a revised system. "A lack of intervention could cost much more in the medium-term," he warned, while admitting that the subsidies system "needs to be fairer." His vision is for a reform of the CAP which takes into account the need to intervene during crises,and if possible avert them, "while allowing the market to play its role." Questioned on the criticism from developing nations that the farm subsidies penalise their own producers, the EU commissioner stressed that Europe had done much to minimise the effects, for instance "reducing greatly subsidies on exports."